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Radioactive 'missile' treatment brings hope to cancer sufferers
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent15 Dec 2009
A new cancer treatment which finds and destroys tumours using mini radioactive "missiles" could provide a lifeline for hundreds of patients.
The results of the first trials into this "smart" therapy shows doctors found improvements in two thirds of people. Findings published today from a study at University College London and the Royal Free Hospital also reveal the drug is of extra benefit to "no hope" patients who no longer respond to treatments such as chemotherapy.
One patient who took part in the Cancer Research UK-backed trial is still disease-free two and a half years after the treatment which was developed to treat immune system cancers such as Hodgkin's lymphoma.
More than 1,300 develop this disease every year including at least 150 children. Hodgkin's lymphoma is the third most common cancer in the UK among people aged 15 to 29. Until now, doctors have treated this type of cancer, which kills 300 people a year, using traditional forms of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. These do not always work and the cancer can re-occur.
But the new therapy called CHT25 is more targeted, has fewer side effects and does not destroy healthy tissue. This drastically reduces the recovery time. It is based on an antibody treatment originally developed for kidney cancer patients to prevent them rejecting their new organ.
Hodgkin's lymphoma is sensitive to radiation so doctors have found a way of modifying the antibody to create a special radioactive "missile".
Molecules of radioactive iodine are attached to the antibody to form the missile. Doctors then feed this into the patient through a drip enabling small doses of radiation to seek out and kill the tumour.
The trial published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research shows the radioactivity remains at the tumour site for at least four days to give maximum benefit. The first study involved 15 patients but scientists now plan a more extensive trial.
A Cancer Research UK spokeswoman said the results were very "unusual" for an experimental drug. Normally only around a third of patients show any response in a phase one trial. But with this, the cancer either stopped growing for a period of time or actually stopped growing completely for two thirds of people who took part.
Dr Nigel Blackburn, Cancer Research UK's director of drug development, said he hoped more people will survive cancer thanks to this breakthrough.
He said: "We are delighted to have been involved in the early development of this drug. We hope the next trial of this new drug to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma will lead to a new success story, helping more people to survive the disease."
Patient hails success of trial after all-clear
Vijay Vijayamanohar was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma a decade ago.
The father-of-two had six months of chemotherapy which appeared to beat the disease. But he discovered the cancer had returned during a regular check-up three years ago.
The 48-year-old from Newham was invited to join the CHT25 clinical trial at the Royal Free hospital and has now been given the all-clear.
He said: “I was delighted to be part of the trial. I know it was one of the most up-to-date treatments and it was a great success for me.
“Now I'm leading a normal life and enjoying time with my family.”
His daughter Janany, 17, helped care for him and now plans to be a pharmacist after her A-levels.
The teenage student said her father's recovery was much quicker on the new treatment.
